TikTok trolling

Figuring out what makes social media trolls

Tik? With three lockdowns in less than a year, social media use is on the rise - and so is online hatred. PAUL McAULEY finds out more, speaking to two TikTok creators about their personal experiences coping with trolls. REC

TikTok is becoming one of the most-talked-about platforms to ever take off. From musicians and dancers, to make-up artists and comedians, TikTok has allowed millions across the globe to have their 15 minutes of fame, or rather, 15 seconds.

But with that popularity comes a sinister, darker side of fame – trolling.

With the likes of ‘The Renegade’ and ‘Savage” Dance challenges, it wasn’t long before TikTok surpassed both Facebook and WhatsApp as the most downloaded non-gaming app.

This, coupled with Ofcom statistics that highlight a 36% increase on social media usage during lockdowns, begs the question, with the world having more time on their hands than ever has there been a surge in social media trolling?

Two Liverpool content creators are constantly having to deal with anonymous hate.

Tyler Anderson (@tylerdaclaire) said: “Homophobia is at the forefront when it comes to the abuse I receive and I’ve had my fair share.

“These ‘trolls’ are projecting their insecurities on to me and I couldn’t care less, I’m enjoying myself and that’s all that matters.”

The 19-year-old, originally from Childwall, has now amassed a following of just over 130k and entertains them with chaotic drunken stories and stylish black ensembles.

The theatre and performance student has grabbed the attention of those as far as America and has been recognised along the streets of Liverpool, but not all has been positive as having a platform comes with a price.

“If you’re insecure then don’t post… It’s a platform that supports incognito trolls. If you’re not confident in what you’re representing then you’re not suitable for the platform. As harsh as that sounds, it’s the truth.

“The thing I do worry about is how queer youths, who aren’t as confident within themselves, may be viewing these antics and may become negatively impacted by them.”

The video-sharing app says promoting a ‘safe and positive environment’ remains the company’s top priority and aims to achieve this by allowing its users to block accounts and remove comments. Despite this, Tyler argues more could be done.

“I’m experiencing issues regarding false claims against my account which I assume is rooted through homophobia. These accounts should have to confirm in a variety of ways, as it’s far too easy to create an account and leave hate on creator’s pages.

“It must also recognise communities more. Queer and POC representation isn’t as normalised as who aren’t within these categories and there are aspects of pretty privilege - this being as people are producing lacklustre content but as they’re attractive, they’re going viral.”

This same stance is echoed by Alberto Palmer (@albertopalmerr) who agrees that those who society deem ‘pretty’ are at more exposure to hatred “simply because of jealously.”

Alberto started TikTok just over a year ago and now has a following of 326k followers and 16M likes.

Since his journey began, Alberto’s relationship with social media has fluctuated. He described his content as dramatic, random, and, although he doesn’t ‘influence’ anything or anyone, he has an opinion on everything.

“The hate was a lot worse when I first started with 40-50 thousand followers,” he said.

“I was getting so much hate and at the time it was very upsetting to see. I’m aware of my problems, I’m aware I’m loud, I have an annoying laugh and a bad accent, I am aware that these things could annoy others, so I have to realise that these people are going through a lot worse than me and ignore their comments.”

The first time the 20-year-old Chemical Engineering student went viral was thanks to an A-level science experiment and it was the likes, comments and followers that gave Alberto the “taste” of what TikTok was really like.

Since then, he has gone viral countless times in lockdown and is often at the forefront of users’ ‘for you’ pages, but with this comes the need for a stiff upper lip.

“I don’t even delete or turn my comment section off anymore because I feel like when you do that, these trolls realise it is affecting you and do it more. Compared to YouTube it would take years for me to build up that number of followers so I feel like TikTok does throw you in the deep end with the fame and its repercussions.”

TikTok’s community guidelines insist that there is a no-tolerance policy for discrimination, hate speech or hateful behaviour and any accounts found doing so will be suspended or banned.

But it is the fear of what could happen when lockdown is lifted that worries both of the creators as thankfully they have yet to experience hatred beyond their phones.